The Life of Death
by Shai PeriHawk
Summary: Jack returns to Riddick's life as an emissary, offering him a deal that will win his pardon and freedom. All he has to do is go back to the planet they crash-landed on years ago.
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: Pitch Black is owned by other people. I don't make no money off of it. And I don't have any anyway. So NYA.  
  
The Life of Death By Shaianne K. PeriHawk  
  
Part One  
  
She walked down the darkened metallic halls, heart in her throat. Five years. Her footsteps echoed hollowly, in her head, and the halls. The dim light was typical for a Company-run space station. They were too cheap to fully light the place. It had been five long years since she'd seen him. She wasn't happy about the circumstances of the reunion either.  
  
She glanced over to the miniature Amazon walking beside her. A long blond braid swished near her hips as she walked. Black armor encased her from shoulder to foot, clinging to her curves protectively. She carried a helmet under one arm. Wearing the full armor, she could be thrown into space and survive as long as it took her to break back into whatever ship had spaced her. She could use any one of the plasma weapons on her body. Or she could just hook her suit up to the computer and hack the airlock open. She was a professional. The woman truly was frightening. If Johns and she had been face to face, all bets would have gone to her getting Riddick first.  
  
They stopped in front of a heavily armored door, with triple titanium locks. Looked like they were taking no chances with Riddick. He'd been at large for nearly five years with no one the wiser. The Company would be apologizing to Central Worlds for the next century because of that little flub. The Amazon turned to her companion.  
  
"You ready for this, Jack?" Her voice was low and husky, rather warming, if she hadn't had that plasma pistol in her hand. Just a subtle reminder that they didn't know what Riddick was capable of, after all these years. The merc wasn't one to take any chances.  
  
Jacqueline Richards, at least that was the name she was known by now, ran a sweaty hand through her short brown curls. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be." Walking into a darkened room still gave her chills, even after all these years. "And, Aislin, thanks for getting them to let me see him first."  
  
The mercenary woman smiled up at Jack. It was startling to see a grin in such a normally stony face. It was more likely to see those teeth bared to rip your throat out. "I've been tracking that man for nearly a year now, kid. I've seen the changes in him, and it started the moment he returned from that planet you guys found. From what you've told me, he's been to hell. He's earned his redemption. I'm happy to give him that chance." She winked.  
  
Jack shook her head with a grin. "You're a rare breed, Aislin."  
  
She actually laughed then. "Kid, you're the one who made it off that planet, I just shot another merc with a tranq gun." She pulled a chain out of her metal mesh shirt and moved to open the door. She stepped aside to let Jack enter.  
  
Jack swallowed heavily and stepped slowly into the room. It was an audience cell. Normally they just moved prisoners in here for an interview. They dared not try to transport Riddick from cell to cell while he was conscious. Aislin wouldn't let them keep him drugged.  
  
The cell was three by four meters, with a set of titanium bars one meter in the long way. Visitors were advised to stick to the back wall, even though the bars were charged with an electric shock. Riddick paced freely in the main cell, he froze when the door opened, careful to stay out of the light.  
  
There was something familiar about the woman who stepped into the cell. Surprisingly, she let the door close behind her. Most people were uncomfortable in the dark with him. She didn't try to look at him, merely stared into the dark. Her hair, it seemed dark to him, brushed her shoulders in curls. She had a pixie-like features. She seemed almost too thin, but full of whipcord muscle, like she worked too hard.  
  
She wiped her sweaty palms on her pants nervously. The gesture seemed familiar to Riddick, and with that thought, pain flashed through his mind. Carolyn Fry. That thought led him to another.  
  
Jack. It was Jack standing there in front of him. He almost smiled, until his eyes re-focused on the bars between them. So, she was part of this. He felt betrayed somehow. Strange, since they hadn't spoken since they divided his bounty those five years ago.  
  
"I suppose you wonder what I'm doing here," she said faintly.  
  
A corner of his mouth quirked up. "The thought had occurred to me."  
  
Jack crossed her arm over her chest and leaned back against the wall. "This wasn't my idea. It's not something I would ever want to do. I still have nightmares, you know."  
  
Riddick pulled his aluminum chair close to the bars and sat down, resting his arms on the back. "Is this about T2?"  
  
Jack rubbed a hand over the back of her neck. "Yeah. They want us to go back. Now."  
  
Riddick snorted. "There ain't no fuckin' way, Jack. What do they have on you? Why are you even talking to me about this?"  
  
She sighed heavily. "The price was right. They're not threatening me. They're offering me a reprieve." She lowered her head. "On top of the six hundred thousand credits, they've offered to get my step-father off my trail. For good. I won't have to hide anymore."  
  
Riddick smiled ironically. "And how am I supposed to spend those creds in the Slam?"  
  
Jack looked up, straight at the point where his voice originated. "That's just it, Riddick. They want this so bad, they'll give you a full pardon. No questions asked, and they never want to hear from you again."  
  
"What makes you think Central Worlds will agree to something that crazy?" Riddick couldn't help the increase in his heart rate. Was that hope?  
  
"Central Worlds stamped the contract. All they're waiting for is your signature." Jack spread her hands in front of her. "Seeing it is the only reason I agreed to talk to you."  
  
"Why do they want us back there?" He voiced his final suspicion. What on that planet could entice the company to its barren surface?  
  
Jack cleared her throat. "You're not going to believe me. Lights, full dim." She ordered the overhead lights to a soft glow; all Riddick would need to read the data-pad she had in her hand. She held it out, careful not to touch the bars.  
  
She waited until he looked back up at her, total disbelief in his silver- blue eyes. She nodded. "They say there's life on the planet. Not just life, a forest more lush than the old-Earth rainforests. No shit involved. I've met the scientists who first made the scans."  
  
The gears started turning in Riddick's head. Could he go back to that place? He had changed there, even he realized it. Could he face who he used to be? Could he face the person he was? Could he face the memory of the woman who had given him that second chance at the cost of her own life?  
  
It was his curiosity that really scared him. He wanted to know how a planet of death could become a planet of life in five short years. It took the Company twenty years to Terraform new worlds, and that was AFTER they established an oxygen atmosphere. But still, he felt fear. Fear of the known. Fear of himself. The hand holding the data-pad shook, until he regained control over it. He stared back up at Jack.  
  
"So?" she asked expectantly. "Is it worth the full pardon and the credits?"  
  
End Chapter One 


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: Pitch Black is owned by other people. I don't make no money off of it. And I don't have any anyway. So NYA.  
  
The Life of Death By Shaianne K. PeriHawk  
  
Part Two  
  
Aislin hated the hollow clomping sounds her footsteps made in the passage from the space station to the ship. They always made her feel fat. Having big and ugly stepping silently behind her really didn't help either. He was graceful and beautiful, it just wasn't fair. Aislin clamped down on the second half of that thought and tucked it far into the recess of her mind. The scowl marring her otherwise unremarkable face deepened the lines around her eyes and mouth. Unfortunately, so many years of smiling made her look cheerful, even when she was pissed off.  
  
Her parents defined her Scandinavian heritage. Her father was tall and golden, like the Viking legends. Her mother was the short dark pixie throwback that popped up every few generations to throw the whole system off kilter. Aislin got her father's coloring, and her mother's build. Her brother called her the War Pixie. If he calls me that in front of these people, he's not going to live through this mission. He was her opposite, at nearly two meters with long dark hair and eyes. She punched the code on the ship's airlock and the door slid open.  
  
"War Pixie!" The man on the other side, now a dead man, cried out as he saw her. He rushed forward to embrace her, armor and all.  
  
Aislin returned the embrace briefly then pushed her brother away. "Joss, I am going to kill you," she said with a grim smile.  
  
She turned around. "Joss, this is Jack and Riddick. Your guests." She turned just in time to see Jack mouth the words "War pixie?" and see Riddick shrug in return. "Hey!" She shouted to get their attention. Both sets of eyes shot to her. "A word, a single word, and whoever said it gets the plasma blaster where it don't belong."  
  
Riddick opened his mouth, with a slight grin on his lips. Jack spoke up before he could. "Will we be in cryo?"  
  
Aislin glared at Riddick as she answered Jack. "Yeah. As much as I hate it, that's the best way to travel."  
  
She missed Riddick's raised eyebrow as she turned away. She walked beside her brother as they walked down the cramped hall of the ship. "Did my cryo tube arrive all right?"  
  
Joss grimaced and rubbed his hand through his long hair. "About that, Ais, um, the Company decided that it was too expensive. They stuck your locker in storage." He didn't look at her.  
  
Aislin grabbed her brother's collar and pulled him down from his nearly two meters of height to her 160 centimeters. "Tell me you're joking."  
  
He spread his hands. "I tried, Ais. I really did. They said no dice."  
  
Aislin huffed in frustration and let her brother go. "Just show me where we're going. And when do we leave for this hell-turned-paradise?"  
  
Behind them, Jack turned her wide eyes to Riddick. She whispered to him. "What kind of crazy fucks are we traveling with?"  
  
"Just remember you've got the craziest fuck of all at your back, Jack." Riddick shouldered his bag of clothes and equipment, and then followed the pair of siblings down the hall.  
  
Riddick heard the little click, right before the door swished open. Jack stepped into the cramped galley, and took a seat beside him. "The captain says we're leaving in an hour. He wants everyone in cryo before that."  
  
Riddick nodded. "I'll be there in fifty-five minutes." He started packing his arsenal into a bag. It would be stored right next to his cryo locker.  
  
It seemed too far away, but he was reasonably sure he could take any of the people traveling with them without a weapon.  
  
There was that doctor. Joss something or the other, he hadn't heard.  
  
The pilots. Both of them were tiny little men, Asian ancestry with a European outlook. Soft.  
  
The captain was a no nonsense old spacer. He was tough, but not a fighter.  
  
Jack, whom he trusted, as far as he trusted anybody. He saw how she'd changed over the years. No longer the skinny, big-eyed kid she'd been. He liked how she'd matured. He could even be called proud.  
  
The only possible chink in his armor was Aislin. She'd taken him down once before. She was fast, very fast. That armor she always wore made his blades and most projectile weapons a little less than useless. Her only weakness was that she'd never be half as strong as he was.  
  
Strength got you nowhere when you faced a plasma gun. Or when you were caught from behind with a tranq gun. Riddick grimaced, remembering his most recent capture.  
  
Aislin was good at her job. Too good.  
  
He sat, sharpening a long, thin knife to a fine edge. This one was a slicing weapon, more suited to making an opponent bleed than killing. It was small, easy to conceal. Not that he needed to, since the Company bigwigs had authorized him to carry weapons on this mission.  
  
Someone had apparently lost his or her mind in the Company.  
  
He put the knife down and picked up the pistol lying next to it. He checked the functions, and added a bit of lubricant before putting it down and moving to the 12-gauge that was next in line.  
  
Knives were his favorite way to kill, not his only.  
  
He stood, re-shouldered his bag, and left the galley. He made his way unerringly to the hall lined with cryo chambers. He paused in surprise. A woman stood, staring at him, in the middle of the hall. She was a tiny little pixie of muscle, with only black spandex to cover up her curves. Then Riddick noticed the packaged armor beside her, next to an empty cryo chamber.  
  
It was Aislin. Damn, she was a lot smaller than he'd thought.  
  
"It's about damn time you showed up. The captain is getting impatient." She crossed her arms over her breasts and glared at him. "Hurry up."  
  
"Keep your pants on, girl." He grinned, knowing it would irritate her.  
  
As she wasn't wearing any pants, Aislin just glared harder. Maybe she'd burn a hole in him. She couldn't beat him without her armor, and Joss would get upset with her if she damaged the merchandise.  
  
Riddick really hated cryo sleep. People were supposed to experience a big blank in cryo. He didn't. His senses were rather fuzzed for the first few months, but they sharpened again, and he started taking in his surroundings.  
  
His mind flashed back to the last few days on the Hunter-Gratzner. Then he pushed the memories aside. Now was no time to remember that.  
  
He stepped into the cryo chamber and closed his eyes as the door closed in front of him. For a split second, everything went blank.  
  
She really didn't like that he'd seen her out of her armor. It made her uncomfortable. He was dangerous, she liked dangerous. Aislin, you are one sick and twisted little bitch. She checked the readings, and then double- checked them. All was as it was supposed to be. Satisfied that Riddick was in deep cryo sleep, Aislin stepped into her own chamber, and hit the button to send herself into months of dreams.  
  
End Chapter Two 


	3. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: Pitch Black is owned by other people. I don't make no money off of it. And I don't have any anyway. So NYA.  
  
The Life of Death By Shaianne K. PeriHawk  
  
Part Three  
  
Aislin didn't wake with Riddick's face staring at her through the glass, dripping with other people's blood or otherwise. Her nightmares had been groundless. She waited for the cryo-chamber to cycle through. She stepped onto the freezing metal floor and rubbed her icy hands over her face.  
  
She wanted to crawl into the thermal suits designed for helping people out of the cryo-cold they always experienced after sleep, but she moved to her armor instead. The alloy metals were just as cold as her skin; she leeched no warmth from the armor. She'd be okay, if she just got moving.  
  
She moved over to punch in the opening sequences on Jack's tube, then over to Riddick. She wanted to see him wake up. She wanted to be right there. Just in case . . .  
  
Jack woke slowly, struggling to the surface from the black abyss that was cryo sleep. Her eyes opened sluggishly. They blurred for a moment, before she focused on Aislin's back, right in front of her. Beyond the mercenary, Riddick seemed to still be in cryo sleep.  
  
Why hadn't Aislin woken Riddick yet? Jack slowly reached up to the release bar. The doors swung open and she fell into Aislin, who turned her head to make sure Jack was all right.  
  
That's when Riddick made his move. In one motion, he slapped down on the release bar and sprang out of the tube at Aislin.  
  
A sudden movement of cold on the air alerted Aislin before she could see the shadow moving behind her. In a split second, Riddick found himself crashing into Jack, rather than at the woman who managed to piss him off just by being what she was.  
  
Riddick covered his actions by straightening Jack up, and brushing her off, carefully avoiding any touch that might get him decked. Jack wasn't afraid of him, and he wasn't sure quite why. Regardless, he didn't want her provoking his instincts.  
  
He dared a glance over at Aislin. She was trying to hide a smirk. She was also failing. She covered her mouth with her hand and turned away. "Glad you're awake. The Captain says we'll be in orbit in a day. Get ready." She walked off down the hall, her armored feet clamping hollowly behind her.  
  
Riddick turned back to Jack. Much to his chagrin, she was also stifling a smile. A growl rumbled in his chest, but didn't make it to his lips. He left Jack and grabbed his bag of armaments before taking off to "get ready."  
  
The ship landed gently on top of a particularly tall rock. When the crew stepped outside, they found out why.  
  
The vegetation hadn't quite worked its way up to the top of this bit of rock, but it would not be long before it was just as covered as the rest of the planet. One couldn't tell if this rock was an anomaly in its height or if the others had simply given in to the rising flora. A riot of green speckled by a pallet of different colors made Jack's eyes hurt.  
  
She lowered her head, remembering. "Can this really be the same place?"  
  
Joss flipped open a GPS, relaying to one of the twelve satellites they had launched into orbit before landing. "If we can make it through this foliage, I can show you the ruins of the Hunter-Graetzner, and that village you found."  
  
Aislin squinted against the vibrant color. "If being the operative word. I have a feeling we'd better start getting samples as fast as we can." She rubbed the back of her neck, suddenly sweaty. "This place gives me the creeps."  
  
She shot a piton into the rock at her feet. "I'll go down first. Then belay you all. I think I'm probably the only one who can take that fall without making the scenery more colorful."  
  
"Be careful, Aislin," Joss yanked on her braid, annoying little brother to the end.  
  
"Yeah, we don't know what surprises this damn place has cooked up since we were last here," Jack warned. Her jaw clenched before she spoke again. "I don't trust this." She gestured to the foliage below.  
  
Aislin grinned. "You and me both, kid." She dropped over the side of the cliff. Everyone moved to watch over the edge. Aislin's armor made short work of the foliage, ripping a black hole in the greenery, all the way to the ground.  
  
Aislin's mouth set in a grim line as she started to crash through branches. Her imagination had them reaching out for her, grasping at her armor even as she tore from their clutches.  
  
She reached the ground. She double-checked, making sure that was soil beneath her boots and not just a particularly thick expanse of plant. Securing the line to the earth with a piton, she signaled the rest to follow her down.  
  
Joss was first, touching down with more luck than grace. He landed facedown at Aislin's feet. She reached down to help her brother up and out of the way before Captain Redmon landed on top of him.  
  
Before the next man came down the wire, Joss was absorbed with his surroundings. The xenobotanist in him took over, to the exclusion of everything else. Aislin made a mental note to make sure he ate.  
  
Jack hit the ground with controlled style, her body silently absorbing any shock, as if it were nothing. She stood slowly, keeping her eyes on her feet until she was completely straight. When she looked up, her chocolate- colored eyes narrowed with her grin. "This place is still hotter'n a long, slow fuck."  
  
She quickly stepped to the side to avoid the last crewman zipping down the cable. She took her own assessment of the surroundings. She tried, but she couldn't' keep the awe out of her eyes, Aislin noted.  
  
Aislin turned to watch Riddick zip down the line. He looked deadly, coming at her with that speed and control. When he landed, he didn't vibrate, the ground did. Three points of contact, foot, knee, fist, eyes downcast, he looked like some ancient marble statue come to life. When he looked up, Aislin swore she felt his eyes burn into her, despite the goggles between them. She felt heat fission up her spine before he looked away, to Jack.  
  
"Place sure has changed, eh, kid?" he observed just loud enough for the other woman to hear. He didn't notice Jack flinch when he called her a kid, but Aislin did.  
  
Jack busied herself with sorting her packs out from all the others. "One would think . . .." Her long hair obscured her face, but Aislin didn't need to see her expression to hear the pain in her voice.  
  
Interesting . . ..  
  
"I'm going to scout ahead a bit, see if there's sign of anything dangerous in the vicinity." Aislin tossed her bag down in front of her brother. "You won't mind setting up the tent, would you, brother dear?" She smiled sweetly. He'd gotten her into this damned mess of a mission, he could do a little manual labor.  
  
"Hey, Aislin, wait for me," Jack shouted. "I'll go with you." She dropped what she was doing and grabbed the body harness that held a plasma pistol and a machete. She followed behind Aislin at a jog.  
  
Aislin waited until they were out of even Riddick's hearing range before she started talking. "It irritates you, doesn't it? That he still thinks of you as a scared little kid?" She didn't have to look back to see the pained look on Jack's face.  
  
"I'd rather not talk about Riddick," she said shortly.  
  
"No pressure, just figured you followed me to talk about it." Aislin's shoulders lifted in a nonchalant shrug.  
  
"I just needed to get away," Jack returned sullenly.  
  
Aislin suppressed a grin. Jack wouldn't appreciate it, even if the kid was painfully transparent. "I'm not interested in him that way, if you're worried."  
  
A snort was her only reply.  
  
"Hmm," Aislin hummed thoughtfully. "You're right, I'd have to be dead not to notice that he's the sexiest thing in pants this side of the living. But there's one thing that stops me from truly wanting him."  
  
Jack paused. "What's that?"  
  
Aislin turned to face her young companion. "I like danger, Jack. I wouldn't have become a mercenary otherwise. Danger is exciting, and it's sexy. And when I'm done facing danger, my libido is always in full throttle. I like having lovers just as dangerous as I am. I like to know they can guard my back." Her expression turned dark. "But I won't deal with a lover who is a danger to me. I want to be able to trust that person with my body. I don't want to go to bed with a knife under my pillow in case that lover gets any ideas of getting rid of me."  
  
Jack looked affronted. "Riddick would never-"  
  
Aislin cut her off. "Never hurt you, maybe, but I'm not willing to take that chance." Aislin turned away and started to break through the foliage again.  
  
End Chapter Three 


	4. Chapter Four

Disclaimer: Pitch Black is owned by other people. I don't make no money off of it. And I don't have any anyway. So NYA.  
  
The Life of Death By Shaianne K. PeriHawk  
  
Part Four  
  
Aislin knew the mistake was in letting Jack's worries get to her. As a result, her guard dropped.  
  
She crashed recklessly through the underbrush, just to get away from her own thoughts and Jack's insecurities. She really walked right into its grasp. One moment she was cutting aside the reaching greenery, the next she flew through the air.  
  
A vine crunched the metal around her ankle painfully. She fumbled for her plasma pistol. Before she could even try to aim, she felt a tendril snake between her back and her armor. Before she could work up a proper scream of denial, she was ripped from her metal exoskeleton.  
  
Her scream caught in her throat as her senses exploded into static.  
  
Jack's panicked voice blared over the two-way radio back at the base camp. "Scout party to base camp, get your asses out here NOW! Aislin's down, I repeat, Aislin is DOWN. The thing that got her is trying to munch on her armor, but I think it's going to realize which part is edible really soon!"  
  
Riddick didn't wait for Jack to finish talking. He leapt up and ran down the trail Aislin had stomped through the wood line. He ran in Aislin's giant footprints, silent and predatorial.  
  
He almost stumbled over Jack, who was crouched on the cleared path, trying desperately to cover Aislin's twitching body with a pilfered plasma pistol. Every time a vine reached toward the bounty hunter's body, Jack shot it.  
  
Riddick squatted down next to Jack. "What is that?"  
  
Jack didn't even turn her head to look at him. "Some kind of giant man- eating Venus fly-trap. I really don't know. Aislin was a few meters ahead of me, and it got her. Ripped her out of her armor before she could scream a warning."  
  
"Is she alive?" he asked doubtfully, eyeing the twitching body beneath the grasping vines.  
  
"Yes," Jack said firmly. She gestured to her wrist, where the portable monitor showed Aislin's life signs. They were erratic, but the woman was clearly still alive.  
  
"I suppose we should get her back to the base camp," Riddick said reluctantly. He rose from his crouch and seemed to coil like a spring, ready to move. "Cover me, if you would. I really don't feel like being dinner."  
  
With a nod, Jack steadied her grip on the pistol and waited for Riddick to move. She almost missed the flash of movement, and then Riddick was out there, running low to the ground, and fast. Like a black cheetah.  
  
He dove under a seeking vine and rolled to Aislin's side. Then came his weakest moment. He would depend on Jack to keep him alive when his arms were filled with the tiny woman. He heaved her body on to his shoulders and dashed out of the reach of those grasping vines. He didn't stop, he just kept running.  
  
Jack squeezed off a few more rounds and took off after Riddick and Aislin.  
  
Riddick gently lowered the mercenary woman from his shoulders while Joss fumbled around in the med-kit for a neuro-stablizer. "What's wrong with her, doc?" Riddick asked quietly. "Why does she keep twitching like that?" He raised an eyebrow doubtfully.  
  
Joss mumbled incoherently as he stuffed a clean sock into her mouth. "Gotta make sure her tongue doesn't fall back." He smoothed the woman's blond hair back from her head and checked both eyes. "Looks like the brain damage is minimal. No signs of concussion." He rolled her to the side and lifted the long braid out of the way. Then Riddick saw it.  
  
At the nape of her neck, circuitry sparked and smoked. The remains of a cybernetic link-up hissed at them all. Suddenly, she started convulsing. Joss cursed and picked up another hypodermic spray and injected it into her jugular. A tiny laser sealed the puncture before she started bleeding. Her body slowly settled.  
  
"I have to get that broken link out of her data-port," Joss mumbled. "It's going to hurt like hell." He looked up. "I need you two to hold her down."  
  
Jack stumbled forward and took a position sitting on Aislin's shoulders. Riddick grabbed her head between his large hands. Joss came in over Jack's thigh with dangerous looking electronics. He attached it to the mess of electronics sticking out of the small woman's head.  
  
Joss looked up at Jack and Riddick. "Here goes. Hold her tight." Riddick and Jack adjusted themselves, preparing for any movement. Joss adjusted his grip on the mess of electronics sticking out of the back of Aislin's head.  
  
At the first twist, her body jerked and she gasped sharply. A jerk and she whimpered. Joss pulled, and she screamed.  
  
Even through the sock in her mouth, Aislin's scream made the hair at the nape of Jack's neck stand on end. All three of them felt it vibrate through their bodies. Riddick hadn't heard a scream like that since . . . .  
  
He shook his head. He didn't want to remember.  
  
He felt the hair beneath his palms grow damp with sweat. He smelled the pain and fear oozing from her pores. Moisture dripped from her eyes, and she screamed again.  
  
With a final pull, Joss removed the damaged cyber-link from Aislin's head. Her body tensed for a brief second, then collapsed.  
  
Joss felt for a pulse, and could find none. "Somebody get the defibrillator, NOW."  
  
End Chapter Four 


	5. Chapter Five

Disclaimer: Pitch Black is owned by other people. I don't make no money off of it. And I don't have any anyway. So NYA.  
  
The Life of Death By Shaianne K. PeriHawk  
  
Part Five  
  
Joss spooned soup into Aislin's open mouth. She swallowed it with a grin. "More," she said.  
  
Joss shook his head. "No more, Aislin."  
  
Her brow furrowed and the corners of her mouth slashed downward. "More!"  
  
"Okay Ais. If you say it in a whole sentence, you can have more," Joss compromised.  
  
Aislin looked confused. "Sentence?"  
  
Joss sighed dejectedly. "Say, 'I would like more soup.'" He instructed.  
  
Aislin's eyes scrunched in concentration. "I would like more soup?" she asked slowly.  
  
"Good job, Aislin." Joss stood to get more soup. "I'll be right back, Aislin. Wait here." He walked over to where Riddick and Jack ate their own food.  
  
"At least she's talking now," Jack offered helpfully. Riddick just watched the child-like woman as she attempted to catch shadows with her hands.  
  
Joss shrugged uncomfortably. "If her progress holds steady, she should be back to normal in a week."  
  
"Meanwhile, we have to keep her alive," Riddick mumbled. "Should be fun."  
  
Joss held back the impulse to threaten Riddick. The best it would get him was a quiet death. "She can stay back at the camp with the crew while the three of us collect samples."  
  
The ghost of a smile crossed Riddick's lips. "You mean, you collect samples while we make sure you don't get eaten?"  
  
Joss thought for a moment. "Yes. Exactly right."  
  
Aislin cried when the warm funny people went away. The big man with the purr-y voice pretended to be big and scary, but he snuck sweets to her when the tall skinny one wasn't looking. If she remembered right, the big man was Riddick, and the skinny one was Joss. Then there was Jack, who tried to be nice, but was kind of scared of her.  
  
HER.  
  
She pulled on her left braid nervously. She didn't like being alone with the strange short men. She shuffled over to her bedroll and curled beneath the many-stacked blankets. She liked to pretend she could hide in their depths. The skinny one said she looked like nothing more than a pile of blankets when she burrowed. She liked that.  
  
Mostly, the strange short men ignored her. They were even less comfortable around her than the Jack woman, and didn't hide it as well. With those thoughts, she started to doze.  
  
Screams from the short men woke her. She froze, barely peeking out from beneath her blankets. She barely stifled a shriek when she saw the huge metal monster holding the Captain up by the throat.  
  
"Where are the Isly twins, old man?"  
  
The man could do no more than cough out a barely coherent answer. Then he choked on his own blood as the giant monster crushed his throat. The other crewmen were already on the ground, lying in their own blood.  
  
Aislin bit her fist so she wouldn't cry out. She had to get away from the evil machine. It killed the crew, and the captain. And it was looking for her and Joss!  
  
Copper burst over her tongue. She looked down at the ragged teeth marks on her hand. She looked up again. The machine's back was to her.  
  
She burst out of her blankets and ran straight into the forest. Small pops exploded behind her, pain lanced across her leg. She arrowed her hands in front of her and dived into the brush.  
  
With a quick roll she was on her feet. She weaved through the underbrush. She heard mechanical whining and thrashing behind her.  
  
She didn't notice the way the leaves parted before her, and closed behind her.  
  
Aislin just ran until her legs gave out. Her eyes rolled around the scenery, but the greenery was just too much. She squeezed her eyes shut and curled in on herself. Exhaustion claimed her.  
  
Joss gently scraped another bark sample from a newly catalogued type of tree. His forehead wrinkled in concentration as he tried not to contaminate the matter with his own DNA.  
  
Aislin's modified armor was really much more suited to do this type of work. Only now it was just so much scrap metal.  
  
Sort of like her brain. Joss sighed as he finished sealing the sample. He wondered if he could get away with calling this a full day of work.  
  
"Hey doc."  
  
Joss nearly jumped out of his skin when Jack spoke up from beside him. "I didn't hear you get here. What's up?"  
  
"Riddick's kind of uptight." The merchant woman gestured with her delicately pointed chin. "I think something's up back at base camp. He doesn't get edgy for nothing. Sometimes I think he's psychic."  
  
Joss paled. "Aislin...."  
  
Jack nodded and took his elbow. "Yeah. Yo! Riddick!" she yelled out to the man who paced like a caged panther just a few feet away. "Let's go!"  
  
She woke feeling warm and loved. The woman stretched her hands above her head and curled her toes before she opened her eyes. The forest seemed to encompass her, caressing her skin protectively.  
  
Her eyes unfocused as she tried to remember why she was in the middle of the woods. She closed them and drew in a ragged breath. "They're dead, and the man in the armor wants to kill me and Joss," she said aloud. Her head ached like she'd run repeatedly into a tree, but it was working now. She realized how out of it she had been. But she still couldn't quite grasp adult reasoning.  
  
She rubbed her face against the leaves next to her. The warm velvety texture of the greenery comforted her. "I have to do something. What can I do?" She looked to the plants. "Do you know where they are?"  
  
They froze their constant motion for a moment, and then continued, more slowly this time. For a moment, Aislin thought they were keeping a secret.  
  
But they were just plants.  
  
Weren't they?  
  
End of Part Five. 


End file.
